Best Air Fryer Crab Cakes Recipe
Loaded with fresh crab flavor and ready in just 25 minutes, this Best Air Fryer Crab Cakes Recipe is perfect for a hectic weeknight meal.
Shape your crab cakes, pop them into the air fryer, and let them crisp up while you whip up a delightful homemade Tartar Sauce for dipping!
Air Fryer Crab Cakes make for the perfect appetizers to impress your dinner guests.
They also serve well as a light meal, especially paired with some Spicy Thai Mango Salad on the side.
Plus, the leftovers transform into amazingly delicious sandwiches—ideal for a packed lunch or picnics.
Please continue scrolling down to find the recipe card below, which contains the complete list of ingredients with measurements, detailed recipe instructions, additional notes, and nutritional information.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Crab meat – Opt for fresh, hand-picked lump, flake, or claw crabmeat from your fishmonger. The fresher the crab meat, the better your crab cake will taste. In a pinch, you can also use canned crab meat.
- Worcestershire sauce – It adds a strong umami flavor to delicate crab cakes. Just 1 ½ teaspoons is enough. You can find it at supermarkets or online, including on Amazon.
- Mayonnaise – It serves to bind the ingredients together. For an extra burst of flavor, you can also use homemade Tartar Sauce.
- Tabasco – I enjoy adding a splash of Tabasco sauce to bring some heat and extra flavor to my crab cakes. Feel free to omit it or use your favorite hot sauce instead. Adjust the amount to suit your taste.
- Panko breadcrumbs – I prefer covering my crab cakes with panko instead of mixing them into the mixture. This adds extra crispness and color to the crab cakes.
- Lemon juice – Add brightness and a punch to your crab cakes with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Avoid using bottled lemon juice, as it won’t provide the same taste and punchiness you’re after.
- Spring Onions – They provide a fresh flavor and vibrant green color in your crab cakes. Alternatively, you can use chopped fresh herbs like parsley, chives, or coriander.
How to Cook Crab Cakes in Air Fryer?
Important Note
Before you start cooking, note that times may differ among air fryers. I develop my recipes using a Cosori 6.8 air fryer. If you’re using a different air fryer, view my recipes as a general guide and tweak the cooking time—add a bit more or cook slightly less as needed.
Cooking Crab cakes in an Air Fryer is a straightforward process.
To achieve the best results, you need to follow a few simple steps:
Prepare the Crab Cake Mixture
Place crab meat, spring onions, mayonnaise, Tobasco, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, salt, and freshly ground pepper in a large bowl.
Mix together until well combined using a fork or your hands.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate the mixture for a minimum of 30 minutes, up to 24 hours.
Divide the mixture into 8 equal portions of 60 grams each for a starter size, or 6 equal portions of 80 grams each for a main course size.
Shape the mixture into patties using a ring cutter or your hands.
Cover the crab cakes in panko bread crumbs, and reshape them if necessary.
Repeat the process for the rest of the crab cakes.
Set them aside on a plate.
Air Fry the Crab Cakes
If you want your crab cakes deep brown color with extra crispiness, I suggest pan frying them on a very hot pan for a couple of minutes on each side before placing them into the air fryer basket.
Simply heat your pan on high heat, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil, and sear your crab cakes for 2 minutes on each side.
Place them in your air fryer basket and cook them for 8 minutes at 200° C (390° F).
If you are not after that deep brown color and extra crispness, simply spray the air fryer basket with nonstick spray, or line it with parchment paper.
Place the crab cakes, spray them with some oil, and cook for 12-13 minutes at 200° C (390° F).
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s incredibly easy to prepare and takes just 25 minutes. Simply blend all the ingredients, shape them into patties, and air-fry.
- You can freeze the leftovers and keep them for up to a month.
- You can taste the crab meat as the recipe doesn’t require too many fillers, not even an egg!
- With bright and zesty ingredients, each crab cake is lightly seasoned.
Expert Tips From the Chef
- Squeeze out excess water from the crab meat before mixing it with other ingredients.
- Let the crab cake mixture chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to 24 hours.
- Grease the air fryer basket or use parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- For a deep brown color and extra crispiness, briefly pan-fry the crab cakes before air frying.
- Spray the top with oil for a golden finish.
- Consider making smaller crab cakes for party finger food.
What Goes Well with Air Fryer Crab Cakes?
These fresh crab cakes are delicious as they are, but they are even better when served with a dipping sauce such as Tartar Sauce with Capers or sweet chili sauce from your favorite brand.
If you want to serve them as a main course, below are some of my favorite side dishes that pair perfectly with them:
Frozen Sweet Potatoes in Air Fryer, Crispy Air Fryer Brussel Sprouts with Bacon, and Easy Asparagus in Air Fryer.
Storage and Reheating
You can store the leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days in the fridge or up to a month in the freezer.
To reheat the leftover crab cakes, you can use your air fryer or oven.
If using an air fryer, reheat them at 175° C (350° F) for 5 minutes, or until they are thoroughly reheated.
To reheat them in the oven, preheat the oven to 180° C (360° F) and reheat them for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are thoroughly reheated.
Recipe FAQs
You can make the crab cake mixture and shape them for up to 24 hours ahead and keep them refrigerated in an airtight container.
Chilling allows the flavors to meld and makes the mixture easier to handle for shaping.
Panko breadcrumbs work well, but you can experiment with crushed crackers or even crushed tortilla chips for a unique twist.
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Please give us a five-star rating and leave a comment below.
I hope you enjoy the process of preparing this Best Air Fryer Crab Cakes recipe just as much as you enjoy eating them! 🙂
Bon appétit!
Best Air Fryer Crab Cakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 450 g white crab meat
- 4 spring onions (thinly sliced)
- 100 g mayonnaise
- ½ tsp Tobasco
- 1 ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 40 g panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Instructions
Preparing the Crab Cake Mixture
- Place crab meat, spring onions, mayonnaise, Tobasco, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, salt, and freshly ground pepper in a large bowl. Mix together until well combined using a fork or your hands.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate the mixture for a minimum of 30 minutes, up to 24 hours.
- Divide the mixture into 8 equal portions of 60 grams each for a starter size, or 6 equal portions of 80 grams each for a main course size.
- Shape the mixture into patties using a ring cutter or your hands.
- Cover the crab cakes in panko bread crumbs, and reshape them if necessary.
- Repeat the process for the rest of the crab cakes. Set them aside on a plate.
Air Frying the Crab Cakes
- If you want your crab cakes deep brown color with extra crispiness, I suggest pan frying them on a very hot pan for a couple of minutes on each side before placing them into the air fryer basket.
- Simply heat your pan on high heat, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil, and sear your crab cakes for 2 minutes on each side.
- Place them in your air fryer basket and cook them for 8 minutes at 200° C (390° F).
- If you are not after that deep brown color and extra crispness, simply spray the air fryer basket with nonstick spray, or line it with parchment paper.
- Place the crab cakes, spray them with some oil, and cook for 12-13 minutes at 200° C (390° F).
Notes
- Squeeze out excess water from the crab meat before mixing it with other ingredients.
- Let the crab cake mixture chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to 24 hours.
- Grease the air fryer basket or use parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- For a deep brown color and extra crispiness, briefly pan-fry the crab cakes before air frying.
- Spray the top with oil for a golden finish.
- Consider making smaller crab cakes for party finger food.
